The show was created by author Jonathan Ames , and stars Jason Schwartzman as a fictional Jonathan Ames—a writer based in Brooklyn , New York City , who moonlights as an unlicensed private detective. Development of a television movie subsequently began in January When Jonathan's girlfriend Suzanne breaks up with him, and his career as a writer is floundering, he finds himself with a lot of spare time on his hands. Inspired by a Raymond Chandler detective novel , Jonathan posts an ad on Craigslist , advertising himself as an unlicensed private detective. He easily solves his first and second cases, which involve a missing person and a cheating boyfriend respectively.